The full story of the ISS' peculiar Science Power Platform, from its origins as part of the Mir-2 complex, inclusion in ISS plans and cancellation, to the surprising resurrection.
fiftyonepointsix.com/science-powe...
RD-170 butchery and book scans. Deep Cuts Vol. 5
fiftyonepointsix.com/rd-170-butch...
After a spot of pre-dinner retouching, a lovely new photo of a Myasishchev VM-T Atlant during a flight test with a Buran orbiter test article on its back.
via goskatalog܂ru
After a spot of pre-dinner retouching, a lovely new photo of a Myasishchev VM-T Atlant during a flight test with a Buran orbiter test article on its back.
Full 6 minute video of the MAKS tank mockup manufacturing and assembly at NPO Molniya and transport by helicopter.
Over 4000 images now on buranarchive.space!
Another one. this time just a before and after the souvenirs were taken
a Buran forward fuselage test article outside NPO Molniya's Tushino factory gradually losing tiles to ebaycitis over time
1/3 scale wooden model of the Buran orbiter at Zhukovsky in the 90s
*Mach 5
M for Mach in this case! The seats were tested up to Mach 5 iirc.
Yep! But the first generation of the Progress used standard Soyuz fairings and abort towers, just without the solid motors inside, hence the empty space for the seat. Starting in 1990 the new Progress-M started flying with dedicated fairings.
The abort towers coasted under parachute after jettison from the Soyuz stack and the seats then ejected at around 35-40km altitude and speeds up to Mach 3.
Another Vadim Lukashevich gem. This time, the setup for ejection seat tests during Progress flights to Mir.
The first generation of the Progress used standard Soyuz launch abort towers and Progress 38 through 42 flew with a Zvezda K-36RB seat and a dummy cosmonaut that ejected after tower jettison.
A lovely image from the NK forum: a mockup of the RD-150, a 1000 tonne thrust kerolox engine for the RLA family, which later evolved into the Energia and Zenit.
SVOD 1:10 scale test stand at NIIKhimmash, used to test the gas dynamics and plume interactions with the pad during the ignition and liftoff of the Energia-Buran stack.
Image: "Reusable Space System Energia-Buran", OmV Luch, 2004
Buran cabin module in the assembly workshop of NPO Molniya's Tushino Machine-building Plant (TMZ).
Buran and the Antonov An-225 Mriya.
The business end of the Energia 4M and the Buran orbiter in Baikonur's Rocket Assembly and Test Facility after the 2002 roof collapse.
Diagram of Zarya spacecraft
I moved the captions into the diagram, I hope you approve!
10. Antenna of the rendezvous equipment 11. Engine compartment 12. On-board equipment 13. Docking and orientation engines 14. Heat shield shock absorber 15. Doppler velocimeter 16. Refueling and propulsion system 17. Expendable compartment 18. SEP and EKhG 19. Wall-mounted radiator
Cutaway of the Zarya reusable capsule developed by NPO Energia in the 1980s. The spacecraft would use Buran-derived reusable heat protection tiles.
1. Descent module 2. Cargo 3. Landing engine 4. Work compartment 5. Pressure vessel 6. Porthole 7. Star sensor 8. Ejection seat 9. Control panel
In one of the high bays in the Rocket Assembly and Test Facility (MIK RN). Two Energia core stages in the background.
Thanks!
